Silver Hill Duck has been nominated for a major award after securing a three-star win in a global food and drink accreditation scheme.
The Monaghan company has been shortlisted for a Great Taste Golden Fork award for its confit duck legs, one of the highest accolades in the food and drink world.
The product was among the highest scoring in the Great Taste 2023 accreditation scheme.
Since 1994, more than 150,000 products have been put through the robust Great Taste judging process.
Each product is blind-tasted by selected chefs, cooks, buyers, retailers, restaurateurs, food critics and writers.
Organised by the Guild of Fine Food, this year’s Great Taste awards judging took place over 89 days in Dorset and London, with a panel of more than 500 judges putting the products to the test.
Silver Hill
Almost 14,200 products from 109 countries were entered in this year’s competition, with just 248, including Silver Hill’s confit duck legs, being presented with a three-star rating which signifies “extraordinarily tasty food and drink”.
The Silver Hill product, based on an original French recipe, was described as “utterly stunning” by the judges.
In total, the company won 14 gold stars across nine products in their award-winning duck range.
Commenting on the awards, Barry Cullen, head of sales for Silver Hill Duck said: “We always endeavour to produce only the best-quality duck products for our customers, so it is fantastic to get the recognition for our efforts from such a prestigious panel of judges.
“We have been producing our duck now for over 60 years, and are always pleased to win any award, but the Great Taste awards hold a special place in our hearts as this is the competition where we benchmark ourselves against the very best products available around the world,” he added.
The winners will be revealed on September 11, at the Great Taste Golden Forks awards ceremony at Battersea Arts Centre, London.
Founded in 1962, Silver Hill Duck began operations in Ireland with just six top-quality ducks.
Today, the company has 240 employees, six breeding sites, 30 international markets and one production base, producing 82,500 ducks/week.
Earlier this year, Monaghan County Council granted planning permission for the company to build a new 5,680m2 facility at its Emyvale site.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also approved the installation of a state-of-the-art drip irrigation system which will comply with EU Water Quality Directives.